BASEBALL

BASEBALL; From Sub to Sublime: No-Hitter for Phillies' Greene

By MURRAY CHASS

Published: May 24, 1991

Tommy Greene, a substitute starter on a Philadelphia Phillies staff best known for wild pitches, pitched the second no-hitter of the season yesterday, putting major league pitchers 10 days ahead of last year's pace that created a record nine no-hitters.

Greene, starting for only the second time this season, became the first visiting pitcher to hurl a no-hitter in Montreal's 23-year history as the Phillies defeated the Expos, 2-0, before a sparse Olympic Stadium crowd of 8,833.

The 24-year-old right-hander ended his dream game with a flourish, snatching Tim Wallach's hard-hit bouncer at the mound, jumping in the air, then running toward first base and flipping the ball to Ricky Jordan for the final out.

"As soon as I grabbed it, I just yelled, 'Yeah!' " said Greene, who hugged Jordan as soon as he made the out. "I'm just glad we played on turf because it gave the ball a true hop." Strikes Out 10

On May 1, when Greene started for the first time this season -- he allowed no runs and two hits in six innings against the Giants -- Nolan Ryan of Texas pitched the seventh no-hitter of his career. Last year Mark Langston and Mike Witt combined for a no-hitter on April 11, and Randy Johnson of Seattle pitched the next one on June 2.

The Phillies needed Greene for yesterday's game because Danny Cox suffered a pulled groin in his last start last Saturday. Greene was not exactly the picture of perfect control yesterday, walking seven batters, but he also established a personal high by striking out 10 in his 15th major league start.

The Expos hit only three balls out of the infield: flys by Wallach in the fourth inning, Ron Hassey in the seventh and Marquis Grissom in the eighth.

"I think I really got into a groove around the third inning, but I actually felt pretty good all day," the 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound pitcher told reporters in Montreal. "I realized about the sixth inning what was going on, but you can't really think about it. You have to just do your job."

Greene continued doing it in the ninth, striking out Andres Galarraga and getting Larry Walker on a grounder to third base.

Pausing for a breath or two, Greene said he let his mind wander back to a conversation he once had with a minor league pitching coach, Leo Mazzone.

"I had three no-hitters that I lost with two outs and two strikes in the last inning," he related. "And I remember after the last one, Leo Mazzone telling me, 'When are you finally going to get one?' Well, today, I finally hung on to it."

He did it by inducing Wallach to hit the ball back to him, completing the first Phillies' no-hitter since Terry Mulholland pitched last season's eighth one, against San Francisco on Aug. 15.

"It was certainly no fluke," Buck Rodgers, the Expos' manager, said of Greene's feat. "He was handcuffing us. He deserved it." 'He Was in Control'

Darrin Fletcher, the catcher summoned from the minors when Darren Daulton was injured in Lenny Dykstra's automobile accident, said that Greene "seemed to know exactly what he wanted to do and when; he was in control out there."

Greene has not always been in control. There was, for example, the third game this season at Shea Stadium, when he relieved Jose DeJesus after DeJesus walked six of the 10 batters he faced in one and one-third innings. Greene walked three in three innings and fired two wild pitches, one landing high on the screen that protects fans sitting in box seats behind home plate.

The Phillies lead the majors in wild pitches with 26. They don't otherwise have the worst pitching staff in the National League, but it was only the night before the no-hitter that Pat Combs pitched their first complete game of the season. E.R.A. Drops to 2.53

Greene joined the Phillies last Aug. 3 in the trade in which Philadelphia acquired Dale Murphy from Atlanta. Greene, the Braves' first selection in the June 1985 amateur draft, had never lived up to his early promise.

After five seasons in the minors, he made four starts for the Braves in 1989, then pitched for both the Braves and the Phillies last year. He entered this season with a 4-5 career record and a 4.75 earned run average in 13 starts and 6 relief appearances. His effort yesterday raised his 1991 record to 3-0 and lowered his e.r.a. to 2.53.

The Phillies scored a run in the first inning when John Kruk doubled and Jordan tripled against Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd. They added a run in the ninth on successive doubles by Von Hayes and Fletcher.

Photo: Phils' pitcher Tommy Greene celebrating as he grabbed easy grounder for final out in no-hitter yesterday against Expos. He recorded 10 strikeouts but gave up 7 walks. (Associated Press)